on the Fairways with Bill Tait

Bill Tait

Well the year is passing as can be confirmed by the change in the weather with the wind blowing leaves off the trees. But that does not put the determined golfer off, as can be seen by the results below.

Gary Bryden, Girvan Golf Club champion, is to be congratulated on becoming the Ayrshire clubs Champion of Champions beating his opponent from Whiting Bay Golf Club by one hole last Friday in very windy conditions. This is no mean feat when one considers the number of golf clubs in Ayrshire and the wealth of talent they must produce.

Congratulations also to Ian Rorison of Turnberry Golf Club who beat Stewart Allan in the play off for the Colin Clark Trophy.

The Turnberry Wednesday medal on 13th. August resulted in a win for John Broadfoot (4)75 followed by Justin Horne (8)76, Richard Johnstone (14)77 and Ian Rorison (4)79.

Sunday 24th. August is the date for the long awaited Girvan Golf Club’s Captains prize, a tournament for a prize which is under the auspices of the golf club Captain Jason Roberts and may come as a delight to a lot of the contestants.

The Girvan Ladies hold their Captain’s Prize on Thursday August 21st. and no doubt ladies Captain Ann Bush has something up her sleeve.

QUOTATIONS OF THE WEEK

J. Kerr in an article on golf in 1893 ‘My usual caddy Flinn, is one of the same lot. He carries well, knows his employer’s game and almost never needs to be asked for a club-he has always the right one ready. His employer’s clubs he keeps in good order. He is always sober during the day-at least nearly always.’ A great recommendation for a caddy I hope my ubiquitous caddy master agrees.

P.G. Wodehouse the famous writer and keen golfer once reflected ‘There are three things that are held in the smallest esteem, slugs, poets and caddies with hiccups’.

TALES FROM THE CADDYSHACK

I will have to be brief otherwise the editor will cut me short - again!

You will be delighted at the news of Ayr’s victory over Stirling Albion placing Ayr at the top of Division 1. We look forward to that lasting for the rest of the season as the Championship Division looks as if it will be still a great division financially next season.

A good tip when playing in a golf competition is to make sure when handing in a card the score you record under marker’s score is the same as your playing partner has recorded under your score. There is always some sharp eyed match secretary who may spot a difference which may cause a problem.

The one thing an amateur admires in a professional is their ability to create backspin. But backspin is not always the best thing to happen as there is little you can do to limit the amount a ball will spin backwards. I can remember seeing on TV. Seve Ballasteros pitching the ball on to the green right next to the hole but the backspin was sufficient to spin it back off the green. The art we should strive for is for the ball to take one bounce then check leaving you with a short putt. Ahh! We can dream of such a shot, but it is not outside the ability of any amateur to accomplish it. The difficulty is having to convince yourself to hit through the ball on a shot of only a short distance. Just go out onto the practice green and try it as it could save you more strokes than just constantly bashing a driver on the range.

Autumn will soon be upon us, so just go out and play golf before the wind blows you and your golf balls all over the place.